What if Time Is on My Side
by Katy M VT
Summary: What if Rufus had a flashback?  Parallels to Sam and Dean.  One shot.


What if Rufus had a flashback?

After Dean left, Rufus finished off the bottle of Scotch and stared into the glass. He was transported back in time 20 years ago.

"Rufus, you ready to go?" Bobby called out. He was sitting out in the truck with Rufus's twin brother Rafe. Bobby actually couldn't tell them apart by looking, but they couldn't be more different in personality. Rafe was quiet and sweet and Rufus was brash and gruff.

"So, who was that family that was visiting you a few days ago?" Rafe asked.

"The Winchesters. The father has only been hunting a couple of years since his wife was burned on the ceiling. He doesn't know what did it, but he knows it wasn't natural," Bobby answered.

"The kids seemed cute."

Bobby laughed. "Seemed is the right word. Dean, the older one, he's going to be a major pain in the ass when he grows up."

"What about the younger one?"

"Too soon to tell."

Rufus came out and hopped in next to Rafe. "Are we going to hunt this wendigo, or what?"

"Yeah, yeah," Bobby grumbled as he started the truck. Rufus was always so grumpy.

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"We should put up Anasazi symbols and camp tonight and start hunting in the morning," Bobby said.

"Nah. Let's just start now," Rafe said.

Bobby rolled his eyes. If Rafe had one fault it was impetuousness.

"Bobby's right," Rufus said.

"Let's just go. There's an hour before nightfall, we can wrap it up before dark," Rafe argued.

"Yeah, OK," Rufus grudgingly agreed. He could never deny Rafe anything.

Bobby grumbled but went along with the two brothers. If they hurried they might be able to set the sucker on fire before it got dark. They grabbed some flamethrowers and set out.

They hadn't been walking long when they heard yelling. "Help!"

"Do you think someone really needs help, or that's the wendigo trying to lure us?" Rufus whispered.

"Not sure," Bobby whispered back, straining to listen.

"Only one way to find out," Rafe said and ran towards the sound.

"Rafe!" Rufus yelled and took off after him.

"Idgits," Bobby said and not having any choice ran after both of them. Then he heard a blood-curdling scream.

"RAFE!"

Bobby ran faster and came up to see Rufus shooting a flame at the wendigo. When it was crispy, he dropped the flame-thrower and knelt down next to his fallen brother.

"Is he…?" Bobby asked.

"Yeah," Rufus sobbed.

Bobby remained silent. He had been hunting about 7 years and this was his first hunting death. The last time someone had died was when he had had to shoot his wife. He didn't know how to comfort someone else.

"Can you just leave, Bobby?" Rufus said.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I'm going to salt and burn him and I just want to be alone. We were all we had left."

Bobby nodded. "I'm sorry," he said. He started to leave, but then asked, "How are you going to get home? We're in the middle of nowhere."

"Just wait in the truck. I'll be there in a half hour," he promised.

"OK," Bobby said and headed to the truck.

Rufus lifted Rafe and carried him down the hill. He came up to a cabin that he had seen as they had run past on the way to the wendigo. He tried the door and it opened. He was glad to see that it looked abandoned.

He carefully half-carried, half-dragged Rafe to the bed and laid him down. He sat by him for a few minutes and then left to go find Bobby.

When he got to the truck he got in and said, "Let's go." He stared straight ahead in silence all the way back to Bobby's.

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"Want to stay here tonight?" Bobby asked.

"No thanks," Rufus said and headed over to his car.'

"You probably shouldn't be alone."

"I'll be fine," Rufus growled and got in his car and sped off. He kept driving until he came to a crossroads. He buried the required items and waited.

"You called?" a woman said from behind him.

Rufus spun around. "I want you to bring back my brother."

"OK. I'll give you the hunter's special," the woman said as her eyes glowed red.

"What's that?" Rufus asked.

"I give you your brother back, but I get your soul immediately."

"Everybody else gets ten years," Rufus objected.

"Hunters aren't everybody else. You're out to get us. Why should we do you any favors?"

"No deal, then," Rufus said and began to walk away.

"I might be able to do a little better," the demon said.

Rufus turned back. "10 years?"

The demon laughed. "No way. I was thinking more like 10 hours."

Rufus pictured Rafe laughing and smiling as he usually did. Rufus was grumpy and surly. Of the two of them, Rafe definitely deserved to live more. At least he would get a chance to say good-bye this way. Rafe had died too suddenly. "OK."

"Great," the demon said and pulled Rufus into a kiss.

"I'd heard about that, but I thought it was an urban legend. That is really disgusting."

"I agree. You'd better run off to your brother. You only have 10 hours."

Rufus didn't waste any more time talking to the demon. He ran to his car and raced off to the woods where he had left Rafe in the cabin.

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Rafe woke up. "How could I wake up? I was attacked by a wendigo," he said to himself. He looked down and saw his blood-encrusted shredded clothes. He pulled them aside and saw no marks on his skin. Well, no new marks anyway. As a hunter, he had plenty of scars.

He stood up, expecting to be in a world of pain, but he felt fine. The door crashed open and Rufus was standing there.

"Are you OK?" Rufus asked. He wasn't sure that the demon wouldn't double cross him somehow. Make Rafe different or hurt still so that he would end up dying.

"I'm fine. How is that possible?" Rafe asked.

Rufus took a deep breath. He had a lot of faults, but he never lied to his twin brother. Never. He couldn't start making exceptions now. "I sold my soul for you."

"What?" Rafe asked, certain that he hadn't heard right.

"I sold my soul to bring you back. I couldn't live with you dead."

"So, what you get ten years?" Rafe asked. Ten years was a lot of time. They could figure something out.

"Ten hours."

Rafe exhaled. They couldn't do anything in so short a time. "Why did you do it?" he asked in despair.

"I just told you. Look, you're the better of the two of us. Everybody thinks so. Bobby can barely stand me. The only reason he hunts with us is because he likes you."

They spent the remainder of their time reminiscing and telling jokes. They tried not to look at their watches, but as the time got closer, that was pretty much all they were doing. Eventually Rufus heard a growl. "Hell hound," he muttered.

"No," Rafe said. He wasn't going to let this happen. He was going to stop it somehow. Maybe since they were twins, the hell hound wouldn't know which was which. He got up and stood in between Rufus and the spot he was staring at.

The Hell Hound attacked. He went around Rafe and attacked Rufus. He had the scent. What they looked like didn't matter. Each soul smells different. Rafe watched his brother being cut to ribbons, only he couldn't see what was doing it. The attack was over in about a minute.

Right then he decided he would do whatever he could to bring Rufus back.

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Present time

"I'm sorry I couldn't save you, bro, but I did the next best thing. That day, Rafe died and I became Rufus. I'll live my life for you, because you never should have died. I just wish Dean Winchester knows what he's done to his brother."

The End


End file.
